Abstract

In this seminar, I will present my ethnographic research on inclusive education in Colombia. There is scarce literature on inclusive education in this context and very little is known about this geographical area. My research explored: a) inclusive education in practice, b) teacher preparation for inclusive education, and c) local understanding of inclusive education. Findings included a local understanding of inclusive education as synonymous with disability, special teachers as synonymous with inclusive education in practice, and big gaps in teacher preparation for inclusive education. Based on these findings, I emphasise that inclusive education is a global North-created concept, which can acquire different meanings in global South contexts, and I argue that Colombia in particular needs time to make its own understanding of inclusive education a priority.